Lex, the UK’s largest vehicle leasing company, today announced that the homebuilding giant, Taylor Wimpey has appointed Lex to manage its 1,650 strong company vehicle fleet. The contract was awarded to Lex after Taylor Wimpey conducted a detailed review of its fleet requirements resulting from the merger of Taylor Woodrow plc and George Wimpey Plc to form Taylor Wimpey plc.

In addition to managing the company fleet, Lex will also be managing the sale and leaseback of 700 vehicles that originally belonged to George Wimpey as part of a fully outsourced sole supply contract.

Lex won the Taylor Wimpey business after overcoming a number of challenges; prior to the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, Taylor Woodrow had been a Lex customer for six years. As a parallel, George Wimpey was a new business prospect which, prior to the merger, had reached the conclusion that a leased option was most appropriate and Lex were a prime contender to acquire the business. However, with the advent of the merger, and the consolidation of the respective fleets, Taylor Wimpey put their fleet management out to tender.

Commenting on the new association between Lex and Taylor Wimpey, Steve Parr, Director of Supply Chain at Taylor Wimpey said: “As a result of working with Taylor Woodrow, Lex has a proven track record of working with companies in the construction business and best understands the issues facing a business like ours”.

Steve Parr concludes: “Having Lex manage our company fleet, and by completing a sale and leaseback of 700 vehicles stemming from the merger, Lex has delivered Taylor Wimpey an outsourcing solution that will allow us to focus on service rather than the acquisition and management of a fleet of vehicles. The service has already delivered tangible benefits to our business and will continue to deliver benefits to our drivers.”

Lex won the tender process and the Taylor Wimpey business after developing a unique proposal which drew on the specialist knowledge and experience of the existing business and new-business customer teams.

Jon Walden, Managing Director, Lex said: “This is a fantastic result for Lex. The association with Taylor Wimpey represents a further endorsement of the Lex consultative approach to meeting customer needs and the strength of our outsourcing proposition.”

Jon Walden concludes: “As a parallel, the winning proposal is an illustration of the great work carried out by the Lex existing client relationship team and the Lex new business team who worked tirelessly to deliver against our customers’ objectives and secure the Taylor Wimpey business.”